News and views from Paul Bull, the Labour and Co-operative Councillor for the St THOMAS Ward of Exeter City Council. Promoted by Dom Collins on behalf of Paul Bull, both of 26b, Clifton Hill, Exeter, EX1 2DJ.

Exeter City Futures

In the absence of Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, I chaired last night’s meeting of Exeter Board.

The focus of the meeting was Cycling in the City and it was gratifying to see a full public gallery for the meeting .

Starting off the discussion was a preamble and question from Graham Heysett.

Preamble: I note from the DCC Cabinet meeting of 8th June 2016 that Councillors resolved that Officers be authorised to continue working on the development of the Exeter Cycle Network, giving priority to Routes E3 (between Redhayes Bridge and the City Centre)and E4 (between Redhayes Bridge and the University of Exeter Streatham Campus). I also note from items 12 and 5 of the report of the Head of Planning, Transportation and Environment to Cabinet (PTE/16/27) that ‘Progression of scheme development throughout financial year 2016/17 is required to ensure construction plans are available when funding becomes available for delivery. The final E3

and E4 cycle routes will be presented to Cabinet prior to construction.’ and ‘A Growth Deal 3 Expression of Interest has been submitted to the LEP for £3.4M of funding for implementation of the cycle routes, available over the period 2017/18 to 2019/20. £1.65M S106 developer contributions have been secured for walking and cycling improvements and are expected to provide the required match funding.’

Question: Can we be confident that development is taking place for the whole length of the routes E3 and E4, that Progression of scheme development through financial year 2016/17 was on track to ensure construction plans are available when funding becomes available, and that Growth Deal 3 funding available for the period 2017/18 to 2019/20 has been secured from the LEP for implementation of the cycle routes?

The response to the question was given as part of the wider discussion on cycling provision as set out below.

Jamie Hulland outlined the County Council’s current and future proposals for cycling in the City and its ambitions for creating a primary and secondary network of high quality routes and shared cycle/pedestrian paths, subject to available funds. Although not having benefited from Government funding through the Cycling Ambitions Cities Programme such as Oxford and Cambridge, nor through the recent National Parks “Granite and Gears” programme for rural strategic cycle routes serving Dartmoor, Exeter compared well in national terms in its commitment to improved cycle provision across the City.

Funding for future initiatives would come from Growth Deal 3 of £3.4 million topped up to £5.4 million from other County Council funding streams for the period to 2019/20 and the Department of Transport’s Access Fund provision of £1.5 million funding over the next three years towards Devon’s Walking and Cycling Strategy to Prosperity scheme which would also be backed by £60,000 from the County Council. The latter focused on key areas of housing and employment growth in Exeter to change behaviour and promote more creative travel to work and places of education. The project would also support a further extension to the electric bike hire scheme from on-street docking stations in Exeter and deliver annual walking and cycling challenges.

He thanked the Exeter Cycling Campaign for their commitment to and ideas for the network and, referring to the question of Graham Heysett in respect of routes E3 and E4, advised that part of the rationale for the latter was to improve access to the City for cyclists from the growth areas of Newcourt and Monkerton from the Redhayes Bridge/M5 area. Much of the £100,000 commitment in this financial year would focus on the eastern part of the route with subsequent work to occur along Prince Charles Road and Union Road. The E3 route was not as high a priority and would focus on improving linkages from Heavitree and Whipton Barton into the City Centre. He also reported that, both the County Council and City Council, were signatories to the Exeter Cycling Charter.

He responded as follows to Members’ queries:-

other than the London Design Guide, there were no official sanctioned Department of Transport planning guidance and use was therefore made of best practise. The City Council’c Principal Project Manager (Infrastructure Delivery) advised that the City Council’s Sustainable Transport Supplementary Planning Guidance assisted the planning process;

although demand on CIL contributions was oversubscribed, significant sums were being identified for cycle schemes;

shared cycle/pedestrian paths could offer low cost solutions in areas such as Whipton and Heavitree, for example linking Hanover Road and Ladysmith Road through Higher Cemetery could be a possible scheme; and

80%/90% of the road network was gritted but logistics and funding considerations prevented extending this to cycle paths.

Responding to Members’ queries, Joel Smith, the University of Exeter’s Sustainable Travel Co-ordinator, confirmed that the University worked closely with the County and City Councils to improve cycling facilities and, through its Sustainable Transport Plan, was looking at a range of measures to improve cycling provision, both into and on the University campus, with a current estimate of 14% of students and 14% of staff cycling to the campus. Measures being taken included:-

work place support scheme;

adult confidence cycling sessions;

participation in Ride to Work week;

keen to extend the CoBike/Electric bike usage across the City and looking at use of land at St David’s Station and on the St Luke’s campus for this purpose as well as introducing electric bikes on the main campus;

external consultants to report back on cycle parking provision on the Streatham Campus to feed into the University’s Campus Environment Management Group with Streatham Road seen as a potential area for cycle parking as part of a two tier plan for staff and students to park along this road and access the main site by foot; and

student-led project on understanding car use by students.

He confirmed that the University was seeking to action a number of recommendations arising from the presentation of its Sustainable Transport Plan 2016-20 at the November meeting of the County Council’s Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee and undertook to pursue the request for the wider circulation of the above mentioned reports. Referring to a Member’s suggestion that the University should commit to requiring all students to sign up to a no car policy, he acknowledged that student use of cars in the City was a significant issue and referred to a forthcoming meeting on 3 February with local Members on student issues. He noted the comments of a Member in respect of the recent planning applications for purpose built student accommodation in the City, the significant number of cycle parking provision associated with some of these and the apparent lack of communication between the individual developers and the University on the availability of parking spaces on campus and possible developer contribution to such provision.

Jamie Hulland responded further to issues raised:-

the 2021 census would further update car usage in Exeter, the current estimate being that some 50% of those working in the City came from outside Exeter but that the City was performing well in comparison with some cities, benefitting in particular from a comprehensive rail network;

reducing bus lanes, as was being trialled in Liverpool, to help increase cycle paths, was a radical but unsuitable solution with significant numbers using buses and with the Exeter and District Bus Users Group being a strong pressure group/advocate;

responding to the suggestion of advance public alerts to increases in pollution levels, he advised that air quality had improved with better vehicle technology and certain traffic management measures; and

opportunities to investigate the potential for additional cycle parking provision on ad hoc, vacant plots of land, both in the City Centre and in residential areas, should be pursued.

Graham Hysett, as a Sustrans Board Member and cycling instructor, responded to the issues raised. He stated that Exeter had been the First Cycle Demonstration City and that it was important to build on the impetus this status had brought, not to slip behind other Cities and to be ambitious with future plans, taking Danish and Dutch Cities as exemplars of imaginative solutions. He suggested that further road improvements such as the Bridge Road scheme, whilst initially reducing travel time, would ultimately witness similar, if not increased, congestion. This scheme, whilst seeking to improve links between the north and south west of the City would feel the impact of the new housing developments to be brought forward for the latter area. He briefly spoke on the relationship between cyclists and pedestrians, particularly on shared routes and the associated psychology of cyclists in the use of these routes.

Members made reference to the wider, holistic approach to infrastructure provision and the specific cycling issues raised, noting that many road schemes had already come forward through CIL contributions and that, whilst much could be done through implementing low cost schemes, such as cycle parking in the City Centre, the Quay area and residential areas, access to other funding streams was important. In this context, reference was made to the need to put further pressure on the LEP to ensure that Exeter, as the lead area in economic growth, should benefit further from investment. Members therefore supported the proposal that the Board urge the LEP to give full recognition to Exeter’s role in the regional economy for it to receive the appropriate funding support for transport and other infrastructure improvements.

Exeter Cycling Campaign : Mike Walton

Mike Walton, spoke at the invitation of the Board on behalf of the Exeter Cycling

Campaign, presenting its vison for a better city. He stated that Exeter faced significant challenges of congestion, pollution, unhealthy lifestyles and the degradation of the public realm. Other cities were finding solutions to these challenges by making cycling the safe and natural choice for people of all ages, for everyday journeys.

Cycling was good for business increasing employee health and wellbeing and reducing absenteeism. The city’s increasing congestion stifled business and made it a less attractive place to invest in. Businesses across the city recognised the important role cycling had to play and had pledged support through the Exeter Cycling Charter.

There was a need for real ambition to deliver the modal shift away from car-driving.

He enlarged on the four areas of challenge:-

Pollution – there were 42 deaths per year in Exeter from pollution with other Cities taking this issue seriously by introducing low emission zones and investing in cycling infrastructure and building safe cycle routes as the only way of enabling a significant ‘modal shift’ away from the car to the bicycle to reduce pollution;

Congestion – Exeter is congested and planned population growth over the next decade would see the daily commute volume increase by 40%. Rather than dedicating most road space to the most inefficient way of transporting people – the private motor vehicle – some of that space must be used to prioritise the flow of modes of transport that are more efficient, that is, clear corridors for public transport and the creation of dense cycle networks;

Unhealthy lifestyles – Cities are “obesogenic” making it difficult for people, especially children to lead healthy lives. Active living should be promoted through encouraging walking and cycling; and

Degradation of the public realm – Quality open space and City Centres that are people focused will attract more tourist, residents and businesses.

Specific proposals for increasing cycling included:-

(a) segregated cycling infrastructure on busy roads;

(b) separate people walking from people cycling;

(c) reduce traffic volumes in residential areas; and

(d) prioritise people who walk and cycle in residential areas and when crossing side roads.

He concluded his presentation with a number of recommendations for the Board seeking vision and leadership and the empowerment of Council officers to respond to the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP). He also sought a commitment from both the County and City Councils to work on a Transport Plan for the Greater Exeter Area which focussed on moving people not cars. He asked that all submissions from the County Council to the HotSW LEP included urban.

Members were in support of the suggestions, recognising that a co-ordinated, cross Council approach was necessary because of the differing responsibilities of the County and City Councils in service delivery and that engagement at County Council Cabinet level would be important to help ensure the requisite level of resource commitment. There was also a suggestion that a start could be made by identifying two or three pilot areas involving local communities to achieve “quick wins”. The Transportation, Planning and Road Safety Manager advised that any such ideas would need to have regard to existing commitments and the identification of funding.

Similarly, the development of a Transport Plan for the Greater Exeter area would be progressed through the Greater Exeter Strategic Partnership involving the County, the City and Teignbridge, Mid Devon and East Devon Councils.

Exeter City Futures

Jemma Hodgins stated that the aims of the cycling campaign accorded with those of Exeter City Futures which was similarly concerned that an increasing population and an expanding travel to work region were attracting more commuters from across Devon and putting a significant strain on Exeter’s roads, energy resources and wellbeing of the population. Its ambitious goal was to make the City congestion free and energy independent by 2025. She advised that City Futures welcomed ideas from Board Members on ways of changing travel behaviour patterns.

The meeting RESOLVED that:-

(1) the Board support the following recommendations put forward by the Exeter Cycling Campaign;

(a) commit to the vision and work to deliver it;

(b) empower Council officers;

(c) audit the delivery of existing Council cycling strategies and task Council officers to prepare to respond to the imminent Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) guidance;

(d) develop a Greater Exeter Transport Plan which prioritizes movement of people; and

(e) include urban Exeter cycle network proposals in all submissions to the Heart of the South West LEP; and

(2) the Board urge the LEP to give full recognition to Exeter’s role in the regional economy for it to receive the appropriate funding support for transport and other infrastructure improvements.

further development of the Exeter Community Forum, with the Grants Panel to be operational by Autumn. The City Council Executive maintained ultimate authority on awarding grants;

work in conjunction with ICE and Exeter City Futures to utilise the talents that can be found in Exeter’s communities;

exploration of how Asset Based Community Development could be introduced across the Council following on from seminars for Senior Councillors and Officers and partners facilitated by Cormac Russell;

implementation of the Council’s Equality and Diversity policy

renewal of Exeter’s Fairtrade City Status

increasing the profile for dementia awareness

I also advised that the first meeting on developing Youth Strategy for Exeter had been held in response to an Exeter Board’s recommendation , and that I would meet with the Portfolio Holder for Customer Access to agree on further progressing the ICE project.

These priorities would be published in the Council’s Corporate Plan 2016/17.

Earlier tonight, Exeter City Council met in the Guildhall to set the Council’s budget for 2016-17.

There has been a series of meeting that contributed towards the setting of the Budget since the Government announced the provisional Local Government Settlement on 17 December 2015. The Council is to receive £5.802 million in 2016/17, which is £110,000 lower than predicted within the Medium Term Financial Plan. However, it was decided NOT to revisit the budgets as the shortfall could be managed within the budget.

The Local Government Finance Settlement also set the referendum level for District Councils in the lowest quartile of Council Tax rates at no more than £5 rather than 1.99%. Exeter falls into this category and therefore has the opportunity to increase its Council Tax by £5 (3.7%). Along with the increase in the taxbase this will raise an additional £269,000.

It should be noted that in the Government spending calculations, they have assumed that all authorities in the lower quartile will raise their Council Tax by £5 and have set the spending reductions accordingly.

The Council’s revenue estimates for next year were considered during thecycle of Scrutiny Committee meetings and the final budget report was discussed at the Executive meeting on 9 February 2016.

Regulations dictates the Council holds an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council when setting its budget

I would like to start off by paying thanks to the Officers, especially Mark Parkinson, Dave Hodgson and his team, for their help in preparing these figures, and indeed for their work throughout the year.

I would like to set the context for this year’s budget by reminding everyone – members, officers and the wider public – that the reductions in funding received by local authorities like Exeter over the last few years from central government are amongst the most severe cuts we have faced in living memory.

This Council has had a 12.6% reduction in Government Formula Grant for the year 2016/17 on top of equally drastic cuts in previous years. Last year it was a cut of 15.6%.

Between 2010 & 2015 Exeter’s government grant has dropped from £12m to £7.7m but Exeter, unlike some local authorities has not been sleep walking towards oblivion, we have been working hard to make the necessary changes and plans for a future when the money we get from central government will have been cut to a fraction of what it was if indeed it doesn’t disappear completely.
.
In the financial year 2014/15 we made £1.5m in savings, and we continue to streamline and modernise the services we offer to residents and businesses by finding smarter and more efficient ways of working like setting up Strata with our neighbouring councils to deliver IT services across three local authorities and gain financial savings of 7m over the next 10 years.

We are working with our partners in the NHS, the voluntary sector and at Devon County Council to offer the Integrated Care for Exeter [ICE] project that will deliver better services that meet the needs of our citizens and which will save money and resources across all the partner organisations.

But in setting the budget for 2016-17, I am proposing a balanced budget with much of the lost formula grant replaced by additional income streams guaranteed long into the future. These include the guaranteed income from the Feed In Tariff payments on solar panels fitted on the rooves of two of our Car Parks, the Museum, the Quay Climbing Centre, The Phoenix and the largest solar array in Exeter at over 7,000 panels at the Livestock Centre, which on its own will generate over £160,000 a year in income for the Council. And in addition to the financial savings we are reducing our carbon footprint .

In addition to these solar panels we have also replaced our inefficient boilers at the Civic Centre and installed LED lighting in our offices and car parks.

These projects have also delivered tangible savings without affecting front line service delivery.

Cllr Edwards joined the leaders of more than 50 Labour-run councils in pledging to make all our towns and cities across the UK 100% clean before 2050, in line with the commitments made nationally and internationally at the Paris Summit on Climate Change in December 2015.

Our new and emerging partnership with Exeter City Futures and our own ambitious plans to be an energy neutral council by 2020 will go a long way to deliver the Leader’s Green Pledge.

We continue to deliver much needed housing:

In the last year we have built 26 brand new council houses for local families and we are about to begin work on providing an additional 26 new flats for older people next door to Rennes House

Since 01 April 2014, 64 affordable homes have been delivered with 235 further affordable homes consented and in the pipeline for national house builders.

In Exeter we have seen 3,468 new homes built since 2011-12 – more than any other district in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay – earning the Council £10.2m in New Homes Bonus with a significant proportion of these new homes suitable for wheelchair users.

However it must be pointed out that the Housing & Planning Bill currently going through parliament might put much of these plans in jeopardy threatening our ability to make decisions about how we run our Housing Revenue Account and plan for future building of council houses

We have provided new floodlights for the new and improved Flowerpots Skatepark so that the young people who use it can get the maximum benefit from the facilities

New businesses are now moving on the Exeter Science Park

Work is now progressing on a landmark building to house the Met Office’s £97m High Performance Computer.

Job creation continues to increase with new businesses relocating to the city – our own team have helped create 476 jobs in the city.

We continue to be an ambitious Council and are determined to ensure that the City achieves its potential and our residents receive quality services. We continue to support the City ensuring it stays at the forefront of economic recovery and will support the delivery of:

• A new Leisure Complex built to Passivhaus standards that the City will be proud of

• A modernised Bus Station fit to meet the needs of travellers to and from the City for many years to come;

• Two major events in and around the City in 2016 have already been announced – the Radio 1 Big Weekend at Powderham Castle and the European Rugby sevens event at Sandy Park. The Rugby sevens event will be held at Sandy Park for the next three years and building on the success of the Rugby World Cup, last year will further enhance the reputation of the City.

And all this is without the need to increase our overall borrowing requirement.

As a Council we have also supported greater investment in the infrastructure of the City.

We have this year agreed to provide:

• £1.3 million towards the delivery of the new railway station at Marsh Barton;

• £1.025m towards the delivery of a fully operational junction at Sandy Park to enable further development in the area;

• Over £200,000 towards the improvement of our car parks and to provide a permanent electricity supply to Exeter Farmers market.

Finally, for next year’s budget we have made further efficiency savings in the region of £1.1m.

We have again managed to achieve this without a reduction in front line services.

Lord Mayor, Councillors – the budget that I am proposing to you this evening aims to deliver a balanced budget that will protect and maintain the services which the citizens of Exeter need the most.

I therefore propose to you the recommendation set out in the papers before you in terms of the approval of both the revenue estimates and capital programme for the year 2016/17 and which will result in the setting of a District Council tax of £140.05 for a Band D property.

This is an increase of £5 a year for a Band D property less than 10p a week and still means that Exeter sets the 4th lowest Council Tax of any district.

I so move.

There was then a debate on the Budget.

The Leader of the Tory Group, Cllr Andrew Leadbetter [CON, St Loye ] agreed that central Government were cutting funding – but at the same time were enabling local authorities to find other ways to raise money to fund revenue budgets

However, he felt that his group would have to abstain because, although there were some good things in the Budget, there were other things in it that he and group couldn’t support.

Cllr Phil Bialyk [LAB, Exwick]said that imaginative leadership is taking this Council forward. He was pleased that the Budget proposed by the Labour Group had no additional cuts to frontline Council services. He pointed out that there was all that extra investment – all for an extra fiver a year.

Cllr Rob Hannaford [LAB, St Thomas] pointed out that the Council were working to best practice. He thought that we are still leading the way in delivering an ambitious programme despite the risks in the future – reduced revenue support grant, challenges to the self-financing of Housing Revenue Account, welfare reform cuts, unexplained programme of business rate retention following a futrure NNDR revaluation, devolution, and more. He concluded that he would be supporting a good, balanced and robust Budget.

Cllr Rosie Denham [ LAB, Whipton Barton] looked at one element of the Budget – the role Exeter City Futures will make in the work of the Council and the impact that will have on all of us, and our residents. She was grateful for the cross-party support for the initiative and hopes that the project, by taking a strategic approach, would tackle concerns over traffic congestion, health and the environment. Rosie was adamant that we should always think carefully over proposed schemes, programmes and policies, and noted that we are in the incredibly lucky position to be able to come up with imaginative and creative ways to balance our Budget but we shouldn’t take any of this for granted. She concluded that other local authorities were so fortunate and was frightened for the state of the roads, the schools, heath and social care elsewhere.

Cllr Stella Brock [LD, St David’s] questioned the no cuts message of the Budget and questioned the spending on the Bus Station development site [having voted against it at the outline planning stage].

In reply, Cllr Sutton said that the changes to services highlighted by Cllr Brock were not cuts per se but changes to work in smarter and more efficient ways. Rachel also pointed out that without the planned interventions from ECC, the Bus Station development site wouldn’t have levered in an investment of over £75m from the Crown Estate and TH Real Estate and would remain a blot on the landscape of the city centre.

In concluding the debate, Cllr Sutton said she was disappointed that NO alternative proposals were coming forward from the Conservative Group, describing it as lazy opposition. Indeed, she pointed out that we know what they are against, but they never state what they are for.

The meeting voted and RESOLVED:-

(1) That the following, as submitted in the Estimates Book, be approved:-

(a) the Revenue estimates for 2016-2017

(b) the Capital programme for 2016-2017;

(2) that it be noted that, at the meeting of the Executive on the 26 January 2016, the Council calculated the figure of 35,429, as its council tax base for the year 2016-2017 in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012 made under Section 33(5) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992;

(3) that the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2016-2017 in accordance with Sections 31A of the Local Government and Finance Act 1992:-

(a) £103,925,695 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2)(a) to (f) of the Act;

(b) £98,963,864 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3)(a) to (d) of the Act;

(c) £4,961,831 being the amount by which the aggregate at (3)(a) above exceeds the aggregate at (3)(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act, as its council tax requirement for the year;

(d) £140.05 being the amount at (3)(c) above divided by the amount at 2 above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B(1) of the Act, as the basic amount of its council tax for the year;

(e) Valuation Bands

(4) That it will be noted that, for the year 2016-2017, Devon County Council, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall and the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority have stated the following amounts on precepts issued to the Council, in accordance with Section 83 of the Local Government Act 2003, for each of the categories of the dwellings shown below:-Being the amount given by multiplying the amount at (3)(d) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in valuation band D, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands.

Devon County Council

Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority

(5) That, having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at (3)(e) and (4) above, the Council, in accordance with Section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby set the following amounts as the amounts of council tax for the year 2016-2017 for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:-

Although the amended legislation came into force on 25 February 2014. there was anexpectation of the Government that authoritiesholding their annual budget meeting before this date will adopt the new ruling when setting their annual budget and council tax. ECC used a named vote at their budget setting meeting in 2015.